The New 'Buzz Word' at Sancta Maria

Be updated, folks.....Bloom’s Taxonomy is the new ‘buzz word’ at Sancta Maria!!

It all started during a brainstorming session when we got together to mull over our lesson plans…and no matter which road we took, we would land up assessing our plans against Bloom’s Taxonomy and check whether our plans stood the test.

We wanted to dig our heels deep and learn more about Bloom’s Taxonomy. Ms. Shetty, Principal Sancta Maria, decided to keep this as topic for her Workshop at St. Mary’s College. The Workshop was aptly entitled ‘How We Learn’.

"Taxonomy” simply means “classification”, so the taxonomy of learning objectives is an attempt to classify forms and levels of learning. It identifies three “domains” of learning, each of which is structured as a succession of ‘levels’. It is suggested that one cannot effectively address higher levels until those below them have been covered…..it is ‘serial in structure’. It provides a basic sequential model for dealing with topics in the curriculum. It also suggests a way of categorizing levels of learning, in terms of the expected ‘ceiling’ for a given program.

Having brainstormed with Ms. Shetty and having got Bloom’s Taxonomy wrapped around my head, I set down to craft a question pallet around this format. I chose a well known childrens' classic book called ‘The Giving Tree’ written by Shel Stevenson. It revolves around the friendship between a tree and a little boy who gradually grows from a little boy to an old man; and how, at each step of the boy’s growth, the tree epitomizes a ‘giving’ friend.

The questions are set to the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

Knowledge: Find a passage that shows the boy or the tree befriending each other.
Comprehension: Identify all the ways the tree gives of itself.
Application: Tell about what it means to be a friend. Tell about a friend of yours.
Analysis: Tell about how you are a friend to others.
Synthesis: Rewrite The Giving Tree with a different beginning, middle and ending.
Evaluation: Is it acceptable to continue ‘taking’ from a friend? If so, for how long? If not, why not?

Setting our eyes on Excellence has made us more aware of time-tested, solid options we believe, will give our students a definite edge in learning. Bloom’s Taxonomy caters to all brain domains and helps in structuring lesson plans.

Mr. Abhirama Krishna, Director South State Business School, informed me that Bloom’s Taxonomy is used at The Institute of Management Studies by Ms. Ann Herrmann, a lady who is a ‘thought leader’ and frequent keynote speaker about thinking and learning in today's changing environment.

We, at Sancta Maria, believe that it is prudent to groom our students to think on these different levels and prepare them for a future where they will be called to be individuals capable of higher order thinking!